Our Song ((Brantley))

[Jasmine Anderson]

Jasmine hummed along with the radio as she opened the door to the closet in the entrance way. The closet was a complete disaster zone. There were various different cleaning products stuffed in both corners, even overstuffed winter coats hung on the rack in the middle. Pushing the clothes aside, Jasmine pulled out the large vacuum, wheeling it into the small living room. The Anderson’s lived in a small two story ranch house, with only three bedrooms, and three bathrooms. Since her aunt had the largest room, with one of the bathrooms was attached to it, leaving Jasmine having to share one with her cousin. It wasn’t that bad sharing a bathroom with Chad. Expect for the fact that he always moved her stuff, and complained about the drain being clogged with hair. It was a good thing Jasmine didn’t have to clean that bathroom upstairs. Plugging the end of the cord into the socket, she flipped the button upward, the vacuum roaring back into life. Rolling the wheels around over the white carpet until the carpet almost looked like snow even there were a few spots that couldn’t be cleaned. Rolling the card back up on the hack, the front door sung open followed by loud shoes on the wooden floor. Dropping the bundled up cord on the ground, Jasmine flew toward the entrance hall stopping her cousin before he could even take a foot into the kitchen. “Don’t dare take a step anywhere with those muddy cleats on,” she glared sharply at her cousin who shrugged as he took off his muddy shoes into the closet.

“Why are you cleaning?” Chad asked as he entered the kitchen, heading straight toward the refrigerator. Sighing Jasmine ran a hand through her hair as she turned down the volume to the radio by the sink. “I have a friend coming over toady. Remember?” Chad shrugged as he took different kinds of lunch meats along with lettuce, tomatoes, and even mustard. Watching her cousin shatter the food across the clean countertop, she rolled her eyes jumping as the dryer timer beeped loudly. “Why don’t you just your going on a date? It’s not like your going to stay in the house all day watching movies. That would be boring. Then again, that’s just me. This guy you like might like that better than going out to a restaurant, or maybe even to an arcade.” Jasmine rolled her eyes as went into the utility room, taking the warm clothes out of dryer. “I don’t count a girl watching you play in a match as a date,” she yelled breathing into the fresh smell of the fabric. “Hey! She insisted. Anyways, it’s not my fault that girls like to watch me play sports. Maybe it’s because I look good without a shirt on.” Jasmine laughed as she closed the door with her foot noticing that Chad had created another huge mess on the counter. “Well, mucho man, you’re cleaning that mess up. I’m getting a shower. Brantley’s coming through with the floo system so just yell when he comes.”

It didn’t take long for Jasmine to finish her shower and already be putting her clothes onto hangers. Her room was always neat, and in order. The walls were painted light blue, with various horse posters, ribbons, and even pictures of her family all over the four walls. Jasmine’s favorite was the photograph of her with both Jasper and Wildfire in the background by her bed. Smiling at the photograph, she hung up the last hanger with a sigh jumping as her heard Chad yell up the stairs. “Jazz! Your lover boy is here.” Quickly pulling on the clothes spread across her bed, she took a gold headband from the pile by the large mirror. “I’ll be down in a second!” she yelled back smoothing down her white, flowered top that had a little tie in the back. Smiling, Jasmine headed down the stairs smiling as she saw Chad sitting down at the kitchen table with Brantley next to him, and of course another sandwich on a plate in front of him. Chad smiled picking his plate up and heading up the stairs, stopping as he shot Brantley a look, “Don’t forget what we talked about.” With a raised eyebrow, Jasmine crossed her arms over her chest. “What did he mean by that? You’re not seriously going to take advice from him?”

[Brantley Chapman R7]

Brantley knocked on the mahogany door to his mother’s room softly with his knuckles. There was a quiet noise of acknowledgement from within and Brantley pushed open the door with a look of concern riddled across his face. His mother sat up in the bed, her brown hair pulled back into a braid over her shoulder, a book propped up on her lap. The sun filtered in through the open window, blowing the yellow lace curtains into the room with such a simple elegance that Brantley was reminded of how bright life was outside of this dreary room. For even though the sun trickled in and the bird noises from outside could be heard, there was an air of knowing around Melina that made Brantley ache. “Hey, honey.” Melina greeted with her 100-watt smile. Brantley bent down and planted a kiss on his mother’s pale cheek before collapsing into the chair beside her bed. He reached for a juice box that was on the table beside her bed and pulled the plastic straw off the back of it. “Aren’t you supposed to be at Jasmine’s?” she asked as Brantley pulled the straw out of the plastic and shoved it into the juice box. He sucked on the straw, drawing the apple flavored juice from the carton. Melina placed her bookmark in her book and looked over at her son, admiring who he was becoming. He looked so much like his father.

Harvey Chapman had been extremely handsome. Blonde hair that fell in soft waves along his neck, piercing blue eyes, and a soft and boyish smile. He had been a good height and he was well built. Brantley had most definitely inherited all the good qualities of his father. He did get the brown hair from his mother, however, and Ellie had gotten the blonde from her father. Now, as Brantley sat beside his mother’s bed, Melina had to stop herself from tearing up at how close the resemblance was between the two – not just physically but personality, as well. “Honey, aren’t you supposed to be at Jasmine’s?” Melina asked again. Brantley smiled brightly at his mother and finished off the juice, throwing the empty box into a tin garbage can beneath the table, “Yeah, I just wanted to check in on you, is all. I know,” he said pointedly as he stood from the chair and leaned to kiss his mother’s forehead, “I worry too much, but I can’t help it. You’re okay, right?” Melina scowled, well as much as Melina Chapman could scowl, up at her son, “Yes! I’m fine! Probably a bit irritated with how many times you come in and check on me, but other than that I’m fine.” Brantley chuckled and kissed her forehead again, pushing some of her brown hair behind her ear before telling her he’d be back later that night and if she needed anything Ellie was downstairs.

He left his mother’s room and headed into his, deciding to change out of the navy blue shirt into a red one. It was the fifth time he had changed his shirt in the past two hours. Brantley never cared much with how he looked, but when he had a date with Jasmine – he was always worried about whether or not she’d like his shirt, or whether or not he was overdressed or underdressed. In the end, he chose something he felt comfortable in and that always seemed to be right. He pulled the red shirt on over his head and ran a hand through his hair, grabbing his wallet and shoving it in his back pocket. Brantley checked to make sure he had his wand as he left his room and barreled down the stairs to the ground floor. Ellie was in the living room watching the big screen television with a big bowl of popcorn her hair up in a towel, her feet tucked up underneath her. “I’m leaving, El.” She called a farewell to him and Brantley stepped into the fireplace. “Make sure Mum eats, please?” “Yeah, yeah, yeah; I know Dr. B.” Brantley grinned and shook his head as he threw the floo powder down and rattled off Jasmine’s address clearly.

Within moments, he arrived in Jasmine’s living room and was wiping off the soot from his clothes. He wasn’t alone long, however, because Jasmine’s cousin Chad appeared in the doorway. “Hey,” Brantley greeted as he brushed some more soot off his jeans, stamping his thick boots against the floor. “Watch it, Jazz is on a ‘you make the place dirty you clean it up’ kick. She thinks since she’s been cleaning all day it gives her the right to be the Cleaning Nazi.” Brantley laughed and shook his head as Chad motioned for him to follow him into the kitchen. “I’m serious, man, she’ll eat you alive if she realizes you got soot all over her freshly vacuumed floor.” Brantley didn’t doubt this, but then again he doubted Jasmine would care all that much after he took out his wand and cleaned it up with a simple flick and a spell. He didn’t mention this to Chad, though, as they settled at the kitchen table. In fact, he didn’t mention much to Chad as he went on about how much Jasmine wanted to watch Brantley play a sport for their date. He doubted that. Finally, Jasmine appeared and Chad made himself scarce; but not before he gave Brantley a pointed look and saying to remember what he said. The moment Chad had left, Jasmine asked if Brant was really going to listen to her cousin. In response to her question, Brantley pulled her to him and kissed her softly. When he pulled away from the kiss, he pushed a strand of hair from her face with a smile, “No, he was telling me to take you to a game so you could watch me play.”

[Jasmine Anderson]

Jasmine continued to scowl playfully at Brantley as she waited for an answer. If the male race was going to start taking more advice from Chad, then there wouldn’t be any hope at all for men. Her heart literally leaped from her chest as Brantley pulled her toward him, dropping a soft kiss on her lips. Draping her arms around his neck, she leaned into the kiss, grinning as he pulled away. Rolling her eyes as Brantley told her what Chad meant, she let out a little snort. “That’s what Chad considers a date. He actually had this one girl ask if she could come to his football game today.” Jasmine shook her head, her hazel eyes twinkling with happiness looking up into Brantley’s crystal clear ones. “If you would ever ask me to watch you play a sport, or work out, I would simply have to laugh at you.” Grinning, she laughed mockingly to prove her point. “See? Wanna try asking me now?” Leaning in closer before Brantley could even question, she kissed him gently. Hearing the steps of the stair squeak, Jasmine jumped hearing a loud wolf whistle. Turning again sharply, she glared daggers at Chad as he sneak into the kitchen carrying the half eaten sandwich. “What?” he asked taking out a bag of potato chips from the sliding pantry. Jasmine just continued to glare at her cousin as he seemed completely clueless to what she wanted him to do. Sighing she looked sideways at Brantley as Chad took his time piling chips on his plate. “You can’t have a sandwich without some chips…or soda!” Was he trying to find an excuse to spy on her?

An idea flashed through her mind as Chad began to put things away at an incredibly slow rate. Turning around to face Brantley, Jasmine sent him a look while taking his hands in hers. She pushed him back a little way until he was almost sitting down on the kitchen table. Glancing sharply from Brantley to Chad she sent him that same look, hoping he understood what she was trying to do. Leaning down, Jasmine kissed Brantley again, only this time differently. She could feel Chad’s disgusted fact on her back as he began to walk away from them. “Alright! I get the point. You want me to leave. I can take a hint.” Jasmine waited until she heard the door upstairs clicked lock to break away from Brantley. Laughing, Jasmine bit the inside of her bottom lip as she took a couple steps back. “Have I mentioned that my cousin is a pest? Now he won’t bug us again. Sorry about that.” Grinning, Jasmine took Brantley’s hand pulling him to his feet before walking across the room to where the oven was. “I made some brownies this morning for your mom and Ellie…Do you think your mom would eat them?” Jasmine asked as she opened the door to the oven. Pulling out the red container, she set it down on the counter in front of Brantley. Pilling the white lid off, she showed them off, the chocolate smell filling her noise.

“You already met Chad, but my aunt won’t be home until late tonight. She has a meeting to go to downtown for the hospital.” Shrugging, Jasmine took out two plates from the cabinets next to her, placing one of the plates in front of Brantley, she than put a brownie on his plate. “Go ahead and try it. I made them from scratch,” she said twirling around behind her to take out a couple sodas from the refrigerator. “So…I thinking that we could go to the mall today. Go look for some new music, or maybe even a present for Vanessa and Jeremiah’s wedding?” Tearing a little piece of brownie off from her plate, she stuffed it into her mouth while resting her elbows on the table. “I also just got my license, which means I’m driving.”

[Brantley Chapman R7]

Brantley laughed as Jasmine said if he ever asked her to watch him play a game she’d just have to laugh at him and then kissed her back when she kissed him. He looked at her with a hint of amusement in his eyes, “Actually, then. I wanted to invite you to watch me play some cricket,” he smirked to let her know he was joking and pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms tight around her and planting a kiss on the top of her head. It was at that moment that a wolf whistle was heard and Chad walked back into the kitchen using the excuse of looking for chips for his sandwich. Brantley chuckled as Jasmine glared at her cousin. She was beautiful when she was annoyed, well, she was beautiful regardless… but the annoyance that lit up in her eyes made her goddess like. He felt his eyes widen when Jasmine pushed him back toward the table slowly, but when she gave him that look he immediately grinned. When she kissed him, he kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her waist. It took all his will power to stop kissing her when Chad said he took the hint and left the kitchen. Brantley laughed as she did and pecked her cheek before standing from the table he had been pushed into, “Don’t be sorry, it was quite… interesting, for lack of a better word.”

He followed her to the oven, listening to her talk about how she made brownies for his mum and sister. A small smile crossed his face at the thought of Jasmine making brownies for his family. He remembered the day he had given her the cryptex and how he had sprung his mother’s sickness on her. Brantley hadn’t meant to, but he could never find the right time to tell Jasmine that his mum was dying of cancer. When Jasmine found out, she said she understood and that it was okay; but Brant still felt bad about it. He hated that he kept something from her, even then. He watched her pull out the brownies and listened to her talk about how her aunt wouldn’t be home till late. The brownie was set in front of him on the plate Jasmine had retrieved, but Brantley didn’t look down at it or pick it up to eat it. His eyes remained on Jasmine as she got some sodas and went on about what they could do today. Finally, she seemed to wind down and sit down at the table, so Brantley did the same. He picked up the brownie and took a bite of it, his eyes locked on Jasmine’s. The brownie was good, and to emphasize how good it was, Brantley smiled and stuffed the rest of it in his mouth.

Brantley washed the brownie down with his soda and then leaned back in the chair, looking over at her. He smiled softly, “The mall sounds fantastic. Do you have anything in mind for a gift? We could always get them a toaster oven,” Brantley smirked here, “because you know, newlyweds can never have enough toaster ovens.” He took another sip of his soda as he watched Jasmine finish off her brownie. “So, you got your license? That’s exciting. Hit anyone yet? Run into any buildings?” Brantley’s voice held so much love, but he knew he was teasing her and he hoped it didn’t bother her. He knew it wouldn’t, but there was always a part of him that was tiptoeing around how far he teased with Jasmine because sometimes teasing could be construed as taunting, and Brantley didn’t taunt… not Jasmine anyway.

[Jasmine Anderson]

Jasmine stared at Brantley as he began to take a bite of her brownies. She grinned as he seemed to like it, stuffing the rest down his throat. Laughing, she rolled her eyes at him, flicking open the end of the can. “I’m guessing that you like my brownies. Don’t forget to take the container home with you when you leave,” Jasmine said looking up from the brownie in front of her. “Maybe your mom would enjoy them…Has she been doing any better?” She sent Brantley a small smile across the table, hoping that he would give some sort of an answer. Melina Chapman wasn’t something that Brantley talked much about. Actually, the way she found out about his mother was when they went trail riding back in February. Seeing his mother in that bed, pale, fragile looking with different machines, made Jasmine heart fill with an empty sadness. Biting down on her bottom lip, she reached a hand out across the table, resting it on top of Brantley’s. Her hazel eyes stared into Brantley, with such love and concern, which without words said, I’m right here. She kept her hands on top of Brantley’s grinning as he asked about a wedding present. “No toaster oven. Vanessa can’t cook worth anyway, so I think they’re going to be the take out couple.” Laughing she thought back to the time when Vanessa had invited her over for the night and she attempted making cookies. “Anyways, that’s a little out of my price range. Do you know how much toaster oven’s costs these days?” Gasping at Brantley’s next words, she tore her hands away from his, glaring playfully at him. “I so happen to be a great driver! Thank you very much!” Sticking her tongue out at him, Jasmine left out the part where she had almost ran into a dumpster mistaking the gas from the break.

Reaching across the table, Jasmine took the plate from Brantley, setting it on top of hers. Taking a quick gulp of her soda, she stood up from the table, ready to clean the dishes. Normally Jasmine would just leave the dishes in the sink, but she had slaved almost all morning to make the house spotless. “Hey! I got an idea!” Jasmine said excitedly as she began to rinse the dishes off. “How about we get them some sort of a plant…like a love fern! It’s in my price range, plus I would love to see the look on Nessa’s face when she sees it.” Setting the dishes in the dish water, Jasmine closed the door with the back of her foot while grabbing a towel that hung over the rack. “We could also enchant it to sing! Just think about. A singing lover fern! You have to say that’s original?” Grinning, Jasmine saw that the brownies were still left open. Grabbing the lid she put it, stopping before taking one more out. Closing the lid all the way she began to tear her second brownie in half walking over where Brantley sat. Sitting down on the table beside him, Jasmine rested her legs in his lap stuffing her mouth with the brownie. “Do you have any other present ideas that would fit a budget limit?”

Stuffing another square piece in her mouth she nudged him gently in the stomach with the end of her foot. “You know what really grosses me out?” she asked leaning back to get her soda can. “Bare feet….ugh….I hate feet, even people touching my feet.” Shooting Brantley a quick, worried glance she shoved the rest of the brownie in Brantley’s mouth. Laughing as his whole face was covered chocolate she rubbed her hand on his cheeks. “This look suits you very well.”

[Brantley Chapman R7]

Brantley shrugged nonchalantly when Jasmine asked about his mother. How was he to say that she felt she was doing better, but the tests and everything else said otherwise? Ellie was in denial about how bad Melina was doing, too, so Brantley stood alone in the realization that his mother might not… might not be alive for his graduation. “She’s…” Brantley took in a deep breath and adverted his gaze, “You want an honest answer, don’t you? Well, honestly, she’s… not doing well. The doctor’s there every weekend, she’s getting weaker by the day, her tests are coming back and they’re really bad, Jasmine. I don’t… I don’t think she’s going to make it for much longer.” Brantley’s tone of voice didn’t change at all as he spoke about his mother’s condition. It was how he dealt with it. He knew that he couldn’t feel too much sorrow for it, because if he did he couldn’t function. He wouldn’t be able to do the things he needed to do to stay strong for Ellie if he let the sorrow swallow him. Brantley felt Jasmine’s hand over his, and he held it, moving his thumb over the top of it slowly as his eyes bored into the table top. There was a small silence and then Jasmine replied to his gift idea for Vanessa and Jeremiah. He grinned up at her, “Well, we could get them gift cards to restaurants or whatnot. Hmm, maybe even paid lessons for cooking? You know, something they could do together? They might be a bit pricy, but if we pull our money together, I’m pretty sure we can pay for it.” He shrugged again, aware that he was just tossing out ideas. He didn’t comment when Jasmine claimed she was a good driver, but held a secret smile on his face.

He watched her start to rinse off the dishes, smiling brighter when she exclaimed that she had an idea. A singing love fern? Brantley chuckled and stood from his spot on the table, moving over to Jasmine and wrapping his arms around her waist. “Only you could think of a singing love fern, Mademoiselle.” He grinned and kissed her cheek lovingly before moving back to his seat at the table, “I think it’s a grand idea, but we should probably get them something else, too.” Brantley smiled and leaned back in the chair as Jasmine got another brownie and sat down on the table in front of him, resting her legs on his lap. He linked his fingers behind his neck and looked up at her as she asked him if he had any other ideas. “Just that cooking lesson one, or maybe we could get them something for their new place? A radio or something, just to make the house homier? Some art work, even?” Brantley shrugged, knowing his ideas were probably useless. He listened to her talk about how she hates bare feet, and he reached up to touch her feet when she gave him a look. He smiled innocently and returned to his resting position. It was when she stuffed the brownie in his mouth that he got out of his position. He choked and swallowed the brownie piece in his mouth, and stood from the chair; shoving her feet off him so he could wipe the chocolate off his face.

After a moment, and when he was certain the chocolate was off his face, he turned around and looked at Jasmine. His blue eyes looked at her sitting on the table, and then he adverted his gaze again, trying not to smile. “Alright, so we’ve got chocolate stuffed in my mouth, and we’ve found out where we’re going. So, when are we going? I suggest as soon as possible, before you decide I need another chocolaty make over.” He smirked and walked back over to her, pulling her off the table so she was standing in front of him. Brantley looked into her eyes, pushing her hair over her shoulder and leaning down to kiss her forehead. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, not wanting to ever let go. It was mind boggling how fast Jasmine had become someone so important to him, but he didn’t want it any other way.

[Jasmine Anderson]

Jasmine thought over the ideas Brantley suggested, breaking apart the brownie in her hands. It all sounded like wonderful gifts, but nothing really stuck out as the perfect one. Maybe they had to go into some stores and look around to see what a newly wed couple would need. “I like the cooking lessons idea. I could see them enjoying that.” Nodding her head, Jasmine popped another chocolate piece in her mouth, thinking about the other two ideas Brantley threw there way. “No to the artwork though. Vanessa’s really picky about artwork and knowing me, I’ll probably end up getting a horse painting, or something filled with passion. Artwork is just something that people have different taste for.” Stuffing one of the two pieces of brownie left in her mouth she looked over at Brantley as he tried to touch her feet. “Don’t you even dare think about it unless you want me sock down your throat?” Her playful glare softened as she continued to stay at his relaxed position. Never would she think of being in a relationship with someone like Brantley. Most of the time, Jasmine would fall for the wrong guy, and just before things might of worked out, it never does. It happened like that with Brantley, but it ended up with him in her kitchen, with her legs resting on his lap. Whenever Jasmine is with him, she becomes with confident girl for once in her life. It felt good to be out of the background, but that’s what love does to people.

Rolling with laughter, Jasmine watched as Brantley choked on the brownie that was stuffed in his mouth. He pushed her legs aside, jumping up from the chair to clean his face off. “I thought you said you liked my brownies?” she played with him when her laughter was finally under control. Leaning behind her, Jasmine took the towel, rubbing her hands on it to wipe the chocolate chunks off her fingers. Throwing the towel across the room at him, she waited until his face was chocolate free. She grinned, swinging her legs as his blue eyes bored into her from across the room. “You want to leave already? I was about to give you a stylish hair cut before leaving.” Jasmine was only joking, and Brantley knew that. Her heart jolted as he pulled her off the table, moving her hair from over her shoulders. Sighing as his arms wrapped around her, Jasmine rested the side of her chin on his chest, her eyes closing. The sweet cinnamon smell filled her nose when she took a deep breath in while wrapping her arms around the small of his back. Looking up at him, Jasmine grinned giving him a tight squeeze back. “You’re so amazing, you know that?” she said with such love while nodding her head. “You know you are allowed to show how you feel about your mom? I know you’re trying to stay strong for Ellie, but when the time comes, when your mom does pass away, and all that emotion you bottled in is just going to bubble over until it gets too much to handle.”

Biting her lower lip, Jasmine felt bad for mentioning that, but she didn’t want to loose Brantley physically, or mentally. Leaning up, she kissed him shortly, but gently before backing away. “And I’ll be here when that time comes, or whenever you feel like you can’t handle it anymore.” Giving Brantley and squeeze, Jasmine smiled bright at him before tearing herself away from his arms. “I know I’m irresistible and everything, but we should get going. Just let me get my things from upstairs.” Quickly heading back up the stairs, Jasmine entered her bedroom, pulling on a pair of tennis shoes that were by the door. Grabbing her wallet and keys off from her bedside table, Jasmine tucked her wallet into her pocket, along with her wand before heading back down the stairs. Dangling the keys in front of Brantley’s face she grinned before heading out the front door where the blue truck parked in the drive way. She got into the drivers seat, turning the key into the ignition. The truck roared to life as Jasmine put her seat belt on. The radio had turned on to a country channel she always listened to. Reaching over to turn it off, she looked over at Brantley. “I’m not sure you would like my taste in music.” The car was backed out of the drive way and finally driving down the road. “The mall is only thirty minutes away, which isn’t that bad.”